Shuffle
by Grapes Are Sweet
Summary: My first summer away from Arizona began with two things: a new iPod as a farewell gift from my mother, and then a hesitant kiss as a farewell gift from my best friend.     Little did I know how important the two of them would soon become.  AU, AH, ExBxJ
1. Forks and Knives

**SHUFFLE**

Chapter One: Forks and Knives Do Not Belong in the Same Category

When I opened the wrapping paper of the gift Renee had given me the week before my departure, I was genuinely surprised to see a new iPod hidden beneath. After all, I'd never asked for such a luxury – I had a CD player that worked just fine up in my room. It was very much like Renee to get me something that she _thought_ I needed, however, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings by turning it down, so I kept it.

I originally thought that this sort of going-away gift was supposed to be given closer to the actual going-away, but Renee quickly explained that she wanted to give me the chance to upload a good amount of music, since the plane ride to Forks was a long one. I supposed that I could appreciate this thought. After all, spending all day on a plane with music was better than spending all day on a plane without.

In addition to the iPod, my mother organized a little farewell party, set to take place the weekend before my flight. Knowing I hated parties, she used the excuse that we could instruct all guests to bring CDs so that I'd actually have music to put _on_ my new device. I wasn't really jumping for joy at the thought of it, but my friends at least seemed excited, at least, so I did my best to stifle my killjoy attitude.

It didn't make any sense. Why _should_ I be happy? I was going to have to leave everyone I loved for the entire summer – my supposed "break". Last January, my parents had gotten a divorce. It didn't come to me as a surprise to me, as I'd been able to see that something had been rather off about them for a while, now. It was a lot of Renee staring out of the window, a lot of Charlie staring at old photo albums, and a lot of the both of them sighing. I supposed I was relieved that it wasn't a messy divorce; the two of them seemed more awkward around each other than anything else. However, Charlie had managed to put as much distance between Renee and himself as possible, moving to the smallest corner of the country: Forks, Washington. It's the small town where all three of us were born, although we moved so long ago I can barely remember it. I _do_ remember that Charlie didn't really _want_ to move away from Forks, though. It was always Renee with the stars in her eyes – she wanted bigger, brighter, hotter. _Drier_. So we packed up and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where I spent the majority of my seventeen years, until my parents realized they didn't love each other anymore. It was as if they tore up some imaginary contract – once abolished, Charlie cut his ties to Phoenix and returned to his birthplace. It was then decided that I'd stay with him during all of summer vacation, and that if he wished, he was allowed to come down to Phoenix so that he could visit during Christmas break. I didn't understand that last part. What was the point in Charlie coming to visit if he couldn't even return to his own house?

Unsurprisingly enough, I spent the following Christmas only with Renee.

However, as much as I didn't want to leave all of my friends for the entirety of summer, I _did_ want to see my father again, so I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to see Charlie over vacation. Besides, Forks was supposedly a small town. I'd probably meet plenty of new friends there, simply by running into the same people over and over again. Just because they weren't the group I'd grown up with didn't mean they weren't _people_.

And yet, I found myself dreading my farewell party more and more with every passing second.

* * *

**A/N: Hullo, hullo, welcome to the fic. This is admittedly my first submission to - it's so confusing e_e I apologize if anything doesn't make sense or seems off because of it; I'm sure I'll get the handle of things soon. But for now, please excuse my noob-ish behavior, and merely focus on the story. 8D; Thank you for reading~**

**Also, many thanks to my Beta, Stripe, for making sure this story isn't full of fail.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the setting, nor the general idea of Twilight. The AU's plot and the actual writing, however, are all mine. **  
**


	2. Isn't It Ironic

**SHUFFLE**

Chapter Two: Isn't it Ironic That After I Got My iPod, My CD Collection Grew?

There were ten people who showed up to my farewell party.

I wasn't necessarily expecting a large crowd, however, so I was perfectly happy with those that did show. I had been friends with a majority of them since grade school, save a few who moved in or joined us later on. Of course, I wasn't as close to some of them as I had once been – for example, Jessica Stanley and I had been on awkward terms ever since she began hanging around Lauren Mallory. It wasn't that I didn't _like_ Lauren Mallory, it was just that… Well, no. That was it. She'd been nothing but a snob for as long as I'd known her, and I didn't care _what_ the boys who hung around her looked like, I didn't want to associate with that.

Jessica – apparently - had lower standards.

Regardless, she was able to put aside her differences and pretend to genuinely be upset that I was leaving, which was nice, I supposed. Also in attendance were Angela Weber and Mike Newton, both of whom I had met my freshman year of high school. Although I hadn't known them as long as some in our group, they were still dear to me, and I was happy to see them there.

I was surprised that Rosalie Hale decided to make an appearance, given that we'd never been the best of friends in the first place. But then, Emmett McCarty was also invited, and where Emmett went, Rosalie went. Jasper Whitlock and Alice Brandon - the other static couple in our group – were also there, though it was less of a surprise that they'd show up. Alice was basically my best friend, after all, other than Edward.

Yeah. He came, too.

Edward Masen had lived down the street ever since we first moved to Phoenix. I can still vaguely remember the day we first met; his family came to welcome us to the neighborhood on our first day here. I was intimidated at first because he was a _boy_. At that age, boys were evil, but he quickly proved himself to be an exception; and we soon became best friends. I think it was mainly because we were different from other kids – when most children wanted to go play outside, we'd prefer board games or reading.

Ah, reading. That was probably what bound us the most. I remember when our parents would take us down to the library and we'd pick out a book at random, and then race each other to see who'd finish first. Edward usually won, but I always attributed that to his being a year older than I, lest I admit in my youthful arrogance that anyone could actually be _smarter_ than me. Of course, now I know better.

Anyway, the only other guests at the party were Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, family friends who supported my mother during the divorce. I obviously wasn't buddy-buddy with _them_, but I respected them more than most adults in society. They were the type of people who remembered what it was like to be younger and knew how to treat us because of it. They didn't try to be cool, and they didn't try to be mean, and I liked that. Besides, they kept Renee – who _was_ always trying to be cool – away from my friends, which was something I really appreciated.

The party itself was simple. We ordered pizza and put out soda, but for the most part, it was just all of us sitting around my tiny living room reminiscing. Of course, I opened my presents (as demanded by Jessica, who simply _had_ to know what everyone else got me), and I was a little surprised to see what some of them got for me. I was given everything from obscure indie bands to High School Musical – the latter of which was, thankfully, a joke gift from Emmett and accompanied with a mix he'd compiled himself.

Emmett wasn't the only one to give me a mix – other than people like Mike or Jasper (who probably wouldn't have any idea what to get me if my mother hadn't ordered everyone to bring CDs), most of my friends had actually put the time into burning their own CDs of various songs they thought I'd enjoy. I hadn't expected such thoughtfulness from everyone, and to be honest, it made me kind of sad. I understood that I'd see everyone again in the school year, but summer vacation was such a long time. Who knew how much everyone would change while I was gone? What if Jessica turned her back on our group altogether? What if they made some new friend to replace me? What if Alice and Jasper broke up…?

No. That would never happen.

I tried to keep my head clear throughout the duration of the party, but the insecurities wouldn't go away. It was silly. I'd known these people for as long as I could remember, and I had no reason to mistrust them. The only thing I needed to focus on was what was going on in front of me.

The party ended with most of the girls - myself included - crying. It took a while for everyone to leave, given all the hugging, promises to keep in touch, et cetera. Edward was the last to leave, but he didn't do so until promising to accompany me to the airport. By the time he was gone, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he was annoying or anything; I was just _exhausted_. I'd originally planned on getting a head-start on uploading all of the CDs onto my iPod, but I'd gotten a lot more music than I'd expected, and I was also just _tired_.

So I left the CDs in a pile by my bed, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Uploading all of the music was painful. My computer might as well have come from the stone ages; it was mind-numbingly slow, and I had to download iTunes before I could even think about inserting a disc into the hard drive. Between my friends, my mother, and the Cullens, I had a grand total of seventeen albums to upload, plus whatever CDs I could find lying about my room. However, I quickly developed a system that allowed me to upload as fast as possible, and focused on other things while I waited for each album to import. It wasn't anything complex – just making sure I had the next CD case open ahead of time, and switching discs as quickly as possible. Altogether, the process took a little under three hours, but at least I was able to spend a majority of that time reading while I waited to switch discs.

Finally, I opened the packaged iPod and jammed in the USB port. It took another few minutes to get the music on the iPod itself, but at that point, I was just happy for the process to be over. I was so sick of iTunes and iPods and iWhatevers that when the computer _ding_ed for the last time, I simply threw the iPod onto my suitcase, deciding to listen to it later.

I needed to be _away_ from technology for a while.

"Did you listen to our songs yet?"

Edward sat next to me in the backseat of the car, with Renee playing as our chauffeur. Although we were both well over the age to sit in the front seat, it was kind of an unspoken deal that if we were riding together, we would both sit in the back, to allow for better conversation.

I felt kind of guilty to have to answer no, but Edward simply chuckled and decided it was my lack of finesse with technology that caused the problem. "Really, Bella, you couldn't figure out how to work an iPod?"

"At least I _have_ one," I retorted. "You're the one who's been attached to that old walkman since forever." Edward had an attraction to antique things; every song on his three mix tapes was either a classic or an oldie.

He shrugged off my lame comeback and held open his palm. "Let me see it," he said. "I'll teach you the basics."

With a sigh, I found it in my bag and handed it over. He then leaned in, so that I could see what he was doing.

"See, you have a Touch," he said. "So when you're working with music, the basic controls will be at the bottom. Do you have a playlist?"

I shook my head.

"Well, let's make one solely out of the songs we gave you…"

The rest of the car ride followed as such, with Edward helping me make the playlist and showing me how to do this or that with the device. Finally, I asked, "What's shuffle?"

"It's when it re-arranges the order of your songs when you listen to them, so that every time you restart the playlist, it's in a different order. It helps keep the songs from getting repetitive."

He then pressed the "shuffle" option to demonstrate, and a song occupied the screen: _Kiss to Send us Off_. It definitely wasn't the first song on the playlist, since we'd organized it alphabetically. I was glad for this feature – I tended to be indecisive, and it would easily eliminate that problem. I smiled, looking up at him. "This is really cool. Thanks, Edward."

"Don't mention it."

We arrived at the airport shortly after, but still had plenty of time until the plane actually came. Of course, most of that plenty of time would be spent checking in luggage and going through security and listening to the attendants delay my flight, but Renee and Edward were at least allowed to accompany me until I had to go through security, and I'd brought plenty of books to keep me occupied afterwards. I can't say air travel is one of my favorite things, but I'm better at keeping still than most people are, so I guess I don't mind it that much. What was really going to be hard was saying goodbye to my mother and Edward – my last two ties to Phoenix until the end of August.

Renee, too, was struggling with the departure as we approached security. I could see her attempting to hold back tears as she engulfed me in a huge hug, whispering last thoughts into my ear. "I'm sorry we put you through this, I'm sorry you have to leave all summer, I'll miss you, I'm always a call away, don't forget to email or write or do whatever you need to reach me, take lots of pictures, have fun, I'll see you at the end of summer."

When she finally let go, I could see that she'd caved in to her tears after all – her face was beet red, and her mascara smudging. She dabbed at her eyes, took a deep breath, and said to Edward that she'd head out to the car now, since she wanted to stop at the bathroom first.

Edward and I watched for a moment as Renee left, as if we were waiting for complete privacy before we could begin our own goodbyes. Not that there really was any privacy – it _was_ an airport, after all – but when she left, there was nobody else who really cared what we were saying to each other, so it was _like_ we were alone.

We turned to face each other, and suddenly, I felt incredibly awkward. What was I supposed to say to him? This man I'd known my entire life, who I'd grown up with, had contests every day with to see who could read a silly book faster. How could I possibly say goodbye to someone who made me who I was?

I couldn't. So I let him say it for me.

"I'll miss you," he started with. I nodded dumbly.

"I hope you'll call, or text, or email, or something." I nodded dumbly.

"You _could_ get a facebook, you know. I know you're not the type and all that, but it'd be an easy way to keep in touch…"

"I guess so." My voice broke – perhaps I was closer to tears than I thought.

"Bella…" He sighed. "I don't want to do this."

I stared up at him, hoping he'd be able to hear the question I was unable to speak. _Do what?_ I wanted to ask. But if I said any more, I'd break. I just knew it.

He looked off to the side for a second, and took a deep breath, and then looked back at me. "Bella," he started, "Could I… give you something, before you go?"

I paused for a moment, taken aback. As far as I knew, he hadn't brought anything with him – what could he give me? Perhaps some parting words of advice?

I nodded dumbly.

"Close your eyes."

For a moment, I got this mental image of Edward handing me a slimy bug or something equally disgusting, but I quickly realized that Edward was _not_ the type of person to pull a prank like that and so I did as I was told. I waited for a moment, then suddenly felt pressure on my lips.

My eyes flew open in shock, but Edward's were closed, and his hand was reaching around to hold me closer. There were a million different emotions running through my mind, but my body reacted quicker than any of them, and without completely realizing it, I was kissing him back. And then Edward quickly drew back, gave me a crooked smile, and turned away.

"See you next fall."

* * *

**A/N: First off, my apologies for taking so long to update. I blame finals and my own personal laziness. In my defense, this -was- a long chapter, but seeing as other chapters might end up just as long, I really shouldn't use that as an excuse. **

**I don't like writing Edward. He's stuffy and he speaks funny and he's difficult to work with. I'm glad Bella's going away from him for the summer (ahaha xD). But don't worry, there'll be plenty of Bedward (is that the pairing name? I honestly have no clue) later. and Bakeob. (I'd be dumbfounded if _that_ was the pairing name, but I think Bakeob sounds funny so I'll continue to use it in my A/Ns, and you'll just have to deal.)**

**But before I spoil the rest of my story, I just want to point out that while this fic is very dependent on music and songtitles and such, this is *not* a songfic. I know songfics are banned on ff and everything, but really, the most that will ever be appearing is a title or an artist or an album name. No lyrics. Pinky Promise. **

**Feel free to suggest a song, but I've got a majority of the plot figured out, so if I can't fit it in, that's just too bad. 8D; Uh. Yeah.  
**

**Also, many thanks to my Beta, Stripe, for making sure this story isn't full of fail.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the setting, nor the general idea of Twilight. The AU's plot and the actual writing, however, are all mine. _High School Musical_ is a movie that belongs to Disney, and _Kiss to Send Us Off_ is a song by Incubus.And I'm pretty sure that's it.**  
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	3. Coincidences Kind Of Piss Me Off

**SHUFFLE**

Chapter Three: Coincidences Kind Of Piss Me Off.

By the time my brain was functioning well enough to come up with a response to Edward's farewell, he was already long gone. I had no choice but to continue on through security and customs, but as the time to disembark drew closer, I slowly grew more and more confused. Why would he suddenly kiss me like that? He'd _never_ shown any signs of affection for me. Or anyone, for that matter. I'd kind of grown accustomed to the idea that Edward would be one of those types that stayed single for life, and for him to just make a pass at me like that was completely out of character.

I was also surprised at myself. Had it been anyone else, I probably would have retaliated in such a way that it was clear I did _not_ condone such actions. But I didn't. Did that mean that I was okay with this – this sudden affection? I realized I wasn't quite sure, and found myself gripping my luggage a little too tightly in frustration.

It didn't help that I had no way of talking to Edward now that I was leaving. He didn't have a cell phone, so if I wanted to call, I'd have to wait until I knew he was home. I didn't have a facebook, and he hardly checked his email. And snail mail? The idea was laughable in this technology-crazed society. I wasn't sure if I found his timing cowardly or romantic. Regardless, the first thing I would do when I got to Charlie's house was call him. There was no getting around it – we needed to talk.

_"All passengers for Seattle, row B, please board the plane now. All passengers for Seattle, row B…"_

I double-checked my ticket with a sigh and got in line. There was little point in trying to worry myself now – I'd likely only over-analyze things and end up making the situation worse. I'd just get on the plane, listen to my iPod, and try to fall asleep.

The shuffle onto the plane didn't take too long, and I was lucky enough to exchange seats with a woman who wanted to be next to her husband, so I was able to get a window seat. I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of heights, but in a plane, you were so high up that it didn't even seem like you were off the ground – instead, you could just enjoy the passing scenery. The airline made some kind of rule about not having electronics on while the plane was taking off, so I had to wait until the plane was at cruising altitude to dig my iPod out of my carry-on bag.

I found myself fidgeting in my seat as the plane started down the runway. The chairs weren't very comfortable, and the flashbacks of the kiss were making me antsy. I didn't do well with confusion, and the smile he gave me before leaving – the one I knew very well he reserved for only when he knew something I didn't – was not making things any better. I tried to calm myself by thinking of more mundane things: what I was wearing, what my mother was wearing, what Edward was wearing. But remembering Edward's green shirt only reminded me of the kiss and then the antsy feeling just came back again.

There was a soft _ding_ overhead, and the flight attendant made an announcement that we were at cruising altitude and we could use electronics freely. I quickly retrieved my iPod, plugging in my earphones without bothering to check which went in which ear. I just wanted to get my mind off of Edward for a while.

However, the song that was left on the playing screen – Kiss to Send Us Off – only reminded me of the scene in the airport. Scowling, I pressed the next button, but the next song was from one of the mix tapes Edward had given me (who else would have given me the Beatles?) and didn't show much promise of allowing me to clear my mind, either. I gave up quickly and simply resigned to staring out the window in silence instead.

Forks wasn't _that_ far away.

I woke to the sound of a baby crying from a few seats behind me. Whatever dreams I might have had I couldn't remember – almost everything was drowned out by the wailing and a headache looming on the horizon. I sighed, leaning my head against the back of my seat. I hadn't even gotten off the plane yet and I already had jetlag. As little as I was looking forward to starting my summer vacation in Forks, I _was_ eager to get back on the ground, mostly so that I could take a shower and get into a real bed. Of course, I wanted to talk to Edward, too, but the irritability that almost always followed after a long plane ride made me hesitant to plan to rush to a phone first chance available.

I couldn't help but get a major sense of déjà vu as the landing process began – it was almost exactly like boarding the plane, but in reverse order. Slight turbulence, turn off electronics, buckle seatbelts. Then, after landing, a long wait for the line to shuffle out, and passing through multiple security measures to reach the baggage claim. It was there that I was reunited with Charlie, to whom I met with one of those movie-esque flying leap hugs. I was a little embarrassed to have done something so cheesy, but I _did_ miss Charlie, so I tried to put such feelings away and savor the moment. After all, regardless of how terrible this summer would be, it was going to be the only chance all year I'd have to see my father. It was some consolation that Charlie seemed flustered, too – he met my hug with an awkward pat on the head before helping me find my bags and leading me outside to the parking lot.

There, we arrived at a police car.

I threw my father a withering look, and he returned it sheepishly. "I've always wanted to be a police officer," he said.

"No, it's not that, I'm happy for you." I was. It was great that Charlie could live out his childhood dream. "It's just…" I trailed off, looking at the car again.

"You won't have to ride in it all the time."

I looked up at him hopefully.

"I've got a friend willing to sell his old truck, cheap. I was thinking you could keep it at least for the summer, and if we have to sell it during winter, it's not that big of a loss."

He looked at me with a nervous smile and I suddenly felt guilty for even thinking of complaining about the police car. I gave him another quick hug and then hopped into the passenger's seat, feeling a little more optimistic for the summer ahead of me.

If all of my previous concerns would be appeased this easily, perhaps this vacation wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I'll apologize for taking so long to update, and kind of say right now that it seems that taking forever to update is going to be a habitual thing. However, I have no intention of dropping the story, so please don't ever be concerned that I'll do so.**

**Bella takes an airplane, also known as a slightly-filler-ish chapter! (I have to admit it, or else people will growl at me for it.) However, it has things that will be important for later, so I'm not ashamed of it or anything. It's kind of short, yeah, but... whatever. xD; Sometimes things like this are necessary.**

**Also, if you have any questions or theories or anything, please feel free to share them! As we all know, feedback is what keeps an author excited about their work, so don't hesitate to contact me about anything. I might not know how to work fanfic very well but I'll definitely do my best. c:  
**

**Also, many thanks to my Beta, Stripe, for making sure this story isn't full of fail.  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, the setting, nor the general idea of Twilight. The AU's plot and the actual writing, however, are all mine. _Kiss to Send Us Off_ is a song by Incubus, and _The Beatles_ are an awesome band that I wish I owned but don't. And that's about it.**  
**


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